The present invention relates generally to improvements in loudspeaker enclosures, and specifically to the provision of an enclosure for an automobile rear seat loudspeaker of the type which is mounted in the automobile trunk beneath the rear package shelf.
While loudspeaker assemblies including a loudspeaker mounted within a suitable enclosure for enhancing the quality of the sound from the loudspeaker are well-known in the art, the loudspeaker used in automobiles are generally not provided with enclosures. In particular, loudspeakers provided as standard or original equipment in new automobiles are typically not provided with enclosures, generally because of the space limitations in the automobile. Such automobile loudspeakers are typically flush-mounted on the rear package shelf behind the rear seat, with the loudspeaker suspended beneath the rear package shelf and projecting into the automobile trunk space. The sound from such open loudspeakers emanates from both the front and rear surfaces thereof and is free to bounce about randomly, thereby seriously impairing the quality of the sound emanating from the speaker system and often destroying stereo effect in a stereo system. Furthermore, road noise is often picked up through the speaker cone of such open loudspeakers, and the open loudspeakers are subject to dust and dirt accumulation, impact damage when the automobile trunk is being loaded and unloaded, and the possibility of the speaker cone being blown out when the trunk lid is slammed shut.
If an automobile owner wishes to obtain a high quality sound system in his automobile, he must install the conventional loudspeaker assemblies consisting of a loudspeaker mounted within a conventional enclosure, which loudspeaker assemblies are relatively expensive and may be in addition to original equipment open speakers which do not provide the desired acoustic performance. Such assemblies are typically mounted on top of the rear package shelf of the automobile and may tend to obscure the driver's vision through the rear window of the automobile. Lightweight and inexpensive loudspeaker assemblies having enclosures constructed of corrugated fiberboard are known in the art, examples of such prior structures being shown in U.S. Letters Pat. No. 3,757,889, issued Sept. 11, 1973, U.S. Pat. No. 3,811,532, issued May 21, 1974, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,848,696, issued Nov. 19, 1974, each of which patents was issued to Scott F. Everitt, and each of which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention. However, these and all other prior art loudspeaker assemblies which include enclosures are of the type wherein the loudspeaker is mounted within the enclosure, with the enclosure providing the support or mounting base for the loudspeaker.